Emily is sewing

Emily wants to learn to sew, so I signed her up for some classes this summer. Here's her first completed project - a fun black and white skirt. Not bad for a first attempt!

Sarah's back!

Sarah is home again, back from Corvallis and what she is calling "magical art land". Her experience does, indeed, seem to have been magical. She seems happy, - giddy, almost - confident, and quite independent. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for her to be back home with parents making demands of her time...

She brought home some amazing art. JumpstART guarantees a minimum of three completed pieces from each class. In printmaking, that's just what she was able to complete. First, she did a still life that was etched onto plexiglas.



Next, they worked with copper plates which were coated with wax. The etching was done into the wax, and the copper plate was then put in a chemical bath. The plate used for printing resulted from the chemicals eating into the exposed copper. Her first effort with this method was, in fact, her favorite: a facsimile of Stonehenge.



She tried a different technique with the cityscape, and wasn't as pleased.



Sculpture was the more exciting - and demanding - class. She made a metal sculpture using a laborious "lost wax" technique. It started with a wax image that was encased in plaster, then put in an oven for two days to harden the plaster and melt away the wax. Next, molten aluminum was poured into the plaster cast and allowed to cool and harden. The plaster cast was broken away to reveal the metal figure, which was then smoothed and filed into its final form. Pretty intense!




Power tools were next. We now have a huge abstract wooden piece in our family room. Its intricate design is the result of meticulous measuring and careful use of table saw, jigsaw, and brad nailer. Bendable wood strips ("wiggle wood"!), wood glue, and fabric attached with spray adhesive completed this design. Xeda keeps sniffing around, and stepping over and through the graceful curves. I expect her to eventually jump onto the top, but she hasn't yet.



"Found art" sculpture was the next order of business. Sarah gathered some kitchen supplies and took apart an old typewriter and came up with three small pieces. Gotta keep these out of Xeda's reach - she'll eat the ribbon, for sure!



Their last sculpture project was a collaborative work; the class designed and built a pair of inflatables that flanked the entrance to the gallery housing the post-JumpstART exhibit.



Somehow, we ended up with both of these pieces at our house. Watch out, with two box fans and some extension cords, they could end up anywhere!

The JumpstART program kept their students incredibly busy, even when they weren't in class. There were Open Studios to put in extra time on class projects, workshops on dance, acting, photography, screenwriting, and lectures on various art-related topics, as well.

One activity allowed the students to create fashions from recycled materials - like, perhaps, pop-tart wrappers? Sarah was her group's model, and participated in the Recycled Fashion Show at the end of the session.



The Fourth of July took the program participants to the beach, where they had a sand sculpture contest. Sarah's group sculpted a walrus that garnered them third place.



Sarah had a great roommate, made some new friends, and certainly has lots of memories to go along with her new-found skills.



Something tells me she's glad to be home, though. She and Emily are already being silly together. Ah, sisterly bonding...

Drama Camp

Emily just finished a fun week at Drama Camp at Sunset High School. It was a small group - only seven - and, interestingly, Emily knew three other girls in the class. There was only one boy (poor guy), but he seemed to hold his own just fine, thank you!



The week was spent learning about dramatic acting, playing theater games, and preparing to perform a play at the end of the week. Emily had lines to learn, but wouldn't let me help her. She was determined to leave everything a surprise for us. And it was. The culminating performance was called "The Real Me", a one-act wherein a young girl explores the persona she portrays to others versus the way she really feels about things in her life. Emily got a lot out of the week, and did quite a nice job portraying Annie.

Royal B.C. Museum and heading home

Day 3 was our lazy day. We didn't have to keep to a schedule, so we took our time getting out of the house. After a leisurely breakfast, we again backed our lunches and headed out to be tourists.

We spent our day at the Royal BC Museum. This natural/human history museum has exhibits on all things pertaining to the settlement and history of British Columbia.

It starts with the Ice Age Mammoth. Emily W. just had to pet it.



Next stop, Climate Change, with its funky aluminum foil-like sun.



On to the forest. Watch out for the deer!



The seashore was rife with sea lions.



After spending time in the Ocean Station with its submarine-like setting, we went outside for a picnic lunch.

Again, Emily B. threatened use of the first aid kit. Get out of that tree, girl!



The Helmcken House was open to visitors, so we took a look. It's the oldest building in BC. We also visited St. Anne's Schoolhouse, built in 1843. Here's proof: you're never to old to play school. Stop talking, Emily W.!



The third floor of the museum proper houses the First People's Exhibit and everyone's favorite, the Modern History Gallery. We watched part of a silent movie, featuring Charlie Chaplin, and wandered around the streets of Old Town...



...Chinatown...



...Cannery Row, and, finally, the docks.



Enough time on our feet! We recuperated on a blanket on the Parliament Legislative Building lawn and admired the green-domed structure that dominates the waterfront.

No trip is complete without an opportunity to shop for souvenirs, and that's just what we did. We found two great shops, and spent our money well before declaring it a day.

Wednesday was anything but leisurely. We arose early, had a quick breakfast, made our lunches, and packed our things. Emily W. and I loaded the car (getting the car top carrier loaded and installed was no small feat!), while the rest of the crew cleaned the Guide House. You know that Girl Scout mantra: "Leave it better than you found it." We got to the ferry exactly at our required 9:00 check-in, and lined up for inspection and the 90-minute wait for the ferry ride. After making friends with the couple in the car next to us, we finally boarded, made the crossing, cleared customs, and had a blessedly uneventful trip home.

Favorite memories? Hearing the girls singing together in the kitchen, the bathroom, and just anywhere around the Guide House - often songs from "Phantom". Oh, and I have a new CD on my "want" list: Celtic Woman.

Butchart Gardens

After leaving Craigdarroch Castle, we headed for Butchart Gardens. After lunch in the courtyard, we headed off to tour 55 aces of gardens. Jennie Butchart came up with the idea of planting gardens here to disguise the used-up limestone quarry from her husband's cement plant. And what a great job of camouflage it is.



One of the first plants that captured our attention was this heliotrope, or Cherry Pie Plant. Sure enough, it smells just like cherries. Gillian and I both bought seeds to bring back home - and through customs.



The Sunken Garden affords a stunning view from above.



This place is so beautifully landscaped, even the trash cans have planters atop them.



Onward to the Rose Garden, where endless varieties of roses abound, and a stunning pergola is covered with the climbing variety.



The Japanese Garden had such a tranquil feel, and was where I caught sight of the rare blue poppy that grows here.



They've even named a restaurant after this beauty.



Fountains and water features abound, especially at the Star Pond and the Italian Gardens.



So many flowers, it was hard to decide which ones to snap pictures of. Everything was in bloom. Emily B. felt it was a little overstimulating with such profuse color everywhere. I thought it was magnificent.



Tired girls just wanted to rest for awhile.



And, did I mention how perfect the weather was? Overcast, but pleasant, threatening, but never rained. Just right for strolling the gardens all afternoon.